Lana Christian
Go Beyond
Grab your favorite brew and visit a few minutes with Encouragement from Living History. That sums up my blog: thoughts grounded in the Bible, sprinkled with interesting tidbits from history, all applied to life today. Readers say, “I learn something new every time I read your blog.” Here’s an open invitation to sit a few minutes now and come back often to share your thoughts.
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Last week I spent nine hours at Mayo Clinic. As a patient. Two weeks prior, I’d already received one devastating diagnosis. I wasn’t ready for another….
YouTube contains several videos of police and firefighters freeing children who got their head stuck in a railing. Sometimes rescuers could pry the rails apart with a metal bar; other times, they had to use jaws of life. In each case, the child would have been stuck forever if not for a powerful intervention….
On April 10, 2026, the Artemis II mission ended with Orion’s fiery reentry. For about fifteen minutes, the capsule endured temperatures that exceeded 5000oF (2760o C) as its heat shield melted, layer by layer—“shedding” heat away from the capsule to protect its crew….
The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is one of reflection and introspection for many people. For me, I’ve seen with new eyes what was going through the crowd during Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem….
Author Ashleigh Brilliant said, “I try to take it one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.”…
What memories does Christmas evoke for you? My childhood memories include traveling many hours by car to visit relatives we hadn’t seen all year. The inviting smell of cinnamon baked into special desserts. The enticing glitter of meticulously wrapped presents bathed in a Christmas tree’s soft lights. The welcoming sound of carolers. And my mom shoving me through throngs of shoppers to get day-after-Christmas deals. But what about the sights, sounds, and smells of the first Christmas?…
This month I had the privilege of talking with a workplace Christian fellowship about connectedness. A key piece of that talk centered around the difference between Galatians 6:5 (“carry your own load”) and Galatians 6:2 (“bear each other’s burdens”)….
Some things are beyond understanding. Like why “cough,” “though,” and “rough” are pronounced differently. Why pineapples don’t contain apples. Why Hallmark has a “countdown to Christmas”—although they air Christmas movies all year long. And why God takes people into the wilderness….
The Bible tells us to trust God with everything. Our head knows that’s all-inclusive, but our heart says it’s OK to squirrel away bits of our life beyond God’s reach. Surely we deserve to be sovereign over something. We shouldn’t need God’s help with everything. In fact, the notion that God wants us to relinquish everything to Him sounds selfish….
People yearn for what’s true, authentic, and reliable. That seems to be in short supply in today’s overabundance of instant news. It posits itself as truth. But with so many spins on each story, they can’t all be true….
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